Centralized platforms are no better when it comes to protecting democracy and other such elements, which is why peer-to-peer technology and decentralized systems are better cut for it. This thought has emerged on a large scale due to the US’s current political developments that state the threat posed by centralized platforms. Although social media did play a productive role in the pro-democracy movements within the Middle East and Hong Kong, the spread of false news with little to no specific intervention in relative information is no good for democracy.
There have been talks of white nationalism throughout the online social media platforms which give air to more hate and tensions among people from various races residing within the USA and thus hurting the very figure of democracy cruelly. The storming of the U.S Capitol was one such show of hate and disbelief among the recent elections that were conducted. All those who riddled the building believed that the elections were indeed rigged, and this cuts deep into the heart of democracy.
The USA is not only a single example of the online hate and violence being parched over the centralized social media platforms; there are others, such as the promotion of violence in Myanmar and within the Philippines.
Decentralized Platforms are Pro-Democracy in Reality
The centralized platforms’ business model is based on collecting user data, targeting people out of their own explicit actions taken on social media platforms via a sophisticated algorithm, and then showing them relative content that they are best suited for according to their algorithm. This very strategy lets the passage of information such as violent and invigorating content to all types of users, and as a result, more hatred is spread, which hurts democracy instead of fixing anything there is.
Therefore, there is a need for decentralized social media platforms that would help people understand the bigger picture and provide all control of interacting with content and sharing stuff into their own hands rather than the corporates having their way with them. That is why decentralized technology must make its way into more centralized affairs so that healing can begin.